Gazing up at the Basilica of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, can you imagine a place so grand it needed two floors for worship? This magnificent Roman Catholic minor basilica and Marian shrine stands in Brooklyn. It is a testament to faith and community.
The parish of Our Lady of Perpetual Help started in November 1892. Bishop Charles Edward McDonnell wanted to serve the Sunset Park residents. He formed it from Our Lady of Angels and St. Michael parishes. The Redemptorists bought land between 59th and 60th Streets. It was a rural area then.
The first Mass was on Easter Sunday in 1893. It took place in the Morse family house. A wooden church was dedicated in 1894.
The Redemptorists cherished Mary. They established the devotion to Our Lady of Perpetual Help. Prayer cards were distributed. A copy of the icon from Rome was installed in December 1894. The perpetual novena continues to this day.
Construction of the current Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church began in 1907. The lower level opened in 1909. The upper church was completed in 1928. The Vatican declared it a minor basilica in 1969. The public inauguration was held on November 1, 1969.
Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church was built on “Irish Hill.” Many Irish families attended. Names like Collins, Brennan and Healy were common. Today, the parish is mostly Hispanic and Chinese. The basilica is always full especially on holidays.
Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church offers many services. The Juan Neumann Center provides immigration help. There is a food pantry. A Chinese senior citizen group meets here. The church leases space to a pre-K program.
Franz Joseph Untersee of Boston designed the basilica. It is Romanesque with a limestone exterior. It has two floors for worship like the Basilica of San Francesco d’Assisi. The upstairs church hosts weddings and special services. Spanish masses were once held upstairs due to large crowds. Masses are also in Chinese and Vietnamese. The lower level is for smaller services.
The Basilica of Our Lady of Perpetual Help hosts major diocesan services. Ordinations are held here. It is also a venue for funerals of fallen NYPD and FDNY members.
Our Lady of Perpetual Help elementary school opened in 1903. The Sisters of St. Joseph of Brentwood staffed it. A commercial high school for girls existed from 1956 to 1999.
Chuck Connors grew up in the neighborhood. He was an altar boy at Our Lady of Perpetual Help.
Today, Our Lady of Perpetual Help continues to be a vibrant center of faith. Its history is rich. Its community is diverse. Its doors are open to all. The Masses are held in lower church on Saturdays at 5:00 PM in English and at 7:00 PM in Spanish. On Sundays, Masses in lower church are at 7:30 AM, 9 AM, 10:15 AM and 6:00 PM in English, at 1:30 PM in Spanish, at 11:45 AM in Chinese and at 3:00 PM in Vietnamese. Masses in the upper church are at 12:15 PM in English and at 10:15 AM in Spanish. Weekday Masses are held from Monday through Friday at 6:45 am, 8:45 am, 12:10 pm in English, on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays at 6:45 pm in Spanish. On Saturdays, there are Weekday Masses at 8:45 am and 12:10 pm in English. Chinese Masses are held from Monday through Saturday at 8:45 AM in the upper chapel.